Daniel Paul Franco, 30, pleads guilty to charges after police forcibly removed him from crashed car
A man wanted over numerous charges - relating to incidents across Wagga and Sydney - is in custody after police had to forcibly pull him out of a crashed car.
The Wagga News
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A man who was already wanted by police has admitted to leading them on a pursuit before officers had to smash a window to force him out after he crashed his car.
Daniel Paul Franco, 30, pleaded guilty in Wagga Local Court on Friday to police pursuit, driving a car while he was disqualified and having a knife in public.
Court documents state shortly after midnight on Friday, Traffic and Highway Patrol officers were at a single-vehicle crash at the roundabout in Glenroy, near North Albury, when they saw a white Mazda sedan performing a U-turn before accelerating away from them.
A pursuit began after Franco, of Howlong, failed to comply with police gestures to stop.
The Mazda finally came to a stop after turning off its lights and colliding with the concrete centre median strip near the scene of the original crash.
The car became lodged and police directed Franco to exit the car.
When he continued to rev his car to try to get away, police smashed the window and forcibly removed him from his seat.
Following a search of the car, police seized a knife with a 20cm curved blade, between the front passenger seat and centre console.
He also returned a positive result to the drug ice.
During a police interview at Albury station, he admitted he is a disqualified driver until 2036 because of previous drug driving and speeding offences, court documents state.
In court on Friday, Franco also pleaded guilty to two counts each of unlawfully obtained goods, possessing a prohibited drug and failure to appear in accordance with bail acknowledgement in relation to separate incidents earlier this year.
On January 24, police were patrolling netball courts in Narellan in Sydney’s southwest when they found 21 items of various electronics and clothing in his car, as well as 0.8g of ice in a bag. Police also found a small magnetic ring used to remove security tags of items from shops.
On February 21, police found 2.2g of ice on him in Liverpool.
Bail was refused for Franco and he is scheduled to front Albury Local Court on June 2 for sentencing.
Magistrate Michael O’Brien ordered a sentencing assessment report.